MLB ROUNDUP: Brewers blank Reds; Cardinals reel in Marlins

Juan Francisco drove in three runs with a sacrifice fly and homer in a ballpark where he’s had some big moments, and Yovani Gallardo pitched six innings to lead Milwaukee to a 6-0 blanking of Cincinnati on Saturday.

It was a rare win in Cincinnati for the Brewers, who have dropped 11 of their last 14 games at Great American Ball Park.

Logan Schafer had three hits off Homer Bailey (4-5), his second straight three-hit game. Schafer is filling in for Ryan Braun, on the DL with an injured thumb.

Gallardo (6-6) gave up three hits and a pair of walks in his second straight impressive start. Three relievers completed a seven-hitter for Milwaukee’s first shutout. The Brewers were the only team in the majors without one.

CARDINALS 13, MARLINS 7: Carlos Beltran homered from each side of the plate and tripled to lead a 17-hit attack, and Lance Lynn notched his ninth victory when St. Louis outslugged Miami. Swinging left-handed, Beltran hit his 15th home run in the second inning and tripled for the first time since May 2012 in the eighth. He hit another home run from the right side in the ninth — the 11th time he has homered from both sides in a game.

BRAVES 6, GIANTS 5: Freddie Freeman’s bases-loaded, line-drive single off closer Sergio Romo capped a two-run rally in the ninth that lifted Atlanta over San Francisco. B.J. Upton hit two homers off Chad Gaudin, but the Braves trailed 5-4 entering the ninth. Romo (3-3) walked pinch-hitter Evan Gattis, who was replaced by pinch-runner Reed Johnson, with one out. Andrelton Simmons followed with a grounder that skipped past third baseman Joaquin Arias for an error, putting runners on first and second. Jason Heyward followed with a liner that fell in front of left fielder Andres Torres, loading the bases. Justin Upton worked a walk to tie it and Freeman came through with the game-winning single to right field.

CUBS 5, METS 2: Scott Feldman allowed two hits in seven innings and Starlin Castro hit a two-run double to left in a three-run eighth inning that lifted Chicago clear of New York. Feldman (6-5) struck out six and had a two-RBI single in the fourth off Jonathon Niese (3-6) to help himself on the way to his first win since May 29. Kevin Gregg got the last three outs for his ninth straight save and Chicago beat the Mets for the second day in a row, after losing five of seven before getting to Queens.

ROCKIES 10, PHILLIES 5: Tyler Chatwood pitched five effective innings in his return from a triceps injury, Tyler Colvin homered during a six-run first inning, and Colorado snapped a three-game losing streak by doubling up Philadelphia. The Rockies also relied on solid defense to end a six-game skid against the Phillies, turning three double plays and getting a gem from third baseman Nolan Arenado, who snared Jonathan Pettibone’s sharp grounder in the second with a diving stop and made a one-hop throw from his backside to get the Phillies pitcher.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

RAYS 5, ROYALS 3: Luke Scott, Matt Joyce and Evan Longoria homered for Tampa Bay, and the Rays, who had lost five of six, beat Kansas City. Alex Torres (2-0) replaced Alex Cobb, who left the game when he was hit in the head with a line drive, and struck out four over 1 2-3 scoreless innings. Fernando Rodney pitched the ninth for his 14th save in 19 opportunities. Joyce hit a solo homer off Jeremy Guthrie (7-4) in the fifth that put the Rays up 4-2.

RED SOX 5, ORIOLES 4: Mike Carp and Jonny Gomes homered to back an effective pitching performance by John Lackey, and Boston beat Baltimore. After dropping the first two games of the series, the Red Sox fell into a 2-0 hole before bouncing back. Carp’s home run snapped an 18-inning scoring drought in the fourth, and Gomes made it 5-2 in the sixth with a solo shot that chased Baltimore starter Freddy Garcia (3-4). Boston leads Baltimore by 2ﾽ games in the AL East.

BLUE JAYS 6, RANGERS 1: Adam Lind and Colby Rasmus both hit two-run homers and the Blue Jays won their fourth game in a row, beating the sliding Rangers. Even with the unexpected early return of second baseman Ian Kinsler from his rehabilitation assignment, the Rangers’ season-long losing streak reached five games. All of those losses are at home, and they’ve dropped 10 of 14 overall to fall out of first place in the AL West.

ANGELS 6, YANKEES 2: Erick Aybar homered and drove in two runs, and Albert Pujols added two more RBIs in the Angels’ victory over the Yankees on Saturday night that sent New York to its fifth straight defeat. Tommy Hanson (4-2) recorded a season-high eight strikeouts while pitching five-hit ball into the seventh inning for the Angels, who have won three straight after a four-game skid. Josh Hamilton had an RBI double, and Aybar hit an early homer before delivering a tiebreaking RBI single in the sixth.

ASTROS 4, WHITE SOX 3: Jason Castro and Chris Carter homered in the fourth inning to give Houston the lead and the Astros held on for a win over the White Sox. The game was tied at 1-1 when Castro launched a solo homer into the bullpen in right-center to start the fourth inning. Carter’s one-out homer clanged off the foul pole in left field to extend the lead to 3-1 and leave starter John Danks (1-3) shaking his head. Brandon Barnes’s double drove in a run in the fifth inning to make it 4-1.

MARINERS 4, ATHLETICS 0: Henry Blanco hit a sixth-inning grand slam in his Seattle debut to break a scoreless tie, Felix Hernandez pitched seven strong innings to win his third straight decision, and the Mariners beat the Athletics. The 41-year-old Blanco, a .184 hitter with no home runs coming into the game, was an unlikely candidate to deliver the decisive hit for Seattle. The Mariners signed him Friday, three days after his release by Toronto. He became the oldest Mariners player to hit a grand slam in a game.

TWINS 6, TIGERS 3: Trevor Plouffe had three hits, including a two-run homer, in his return to the Twins lineup, and Sam Deduno held Detroit in check over seven innings in Minnesota’s victory. Plouffe, back after missing 22 games because of a concussion and left calf strain, was a triple shy of the cycle. He drove in three runs in support of Deduno, who has allowed only five earned runs in his last five starts.

INTERLEAGUE

NATIONALS 7, INDIANS 6: Anthony Rendon hit his first major league home run following Nick Swisher’s ninth-inning error to propel the Nationals to a win over Cleveland in an interleague game. Two pitches after his foul popup fell between the Indians’ first baseman and second baseman Jason Kipnis, Rendon homered into the Nationals’ bullpen off Vinnie Pestano (1-2) to stun the Indians and the crowd of 33,307. Swisher and Kipnis both drifted into foul territory and it appeared either could have made the catch, but neither player appeared to call for it and the ball fell to the ground. Swisher was charged with the error.

DONALDSONVILLE, La. (AP) — Federal investigators are expected in south Louisiana over the weekend at the site of an explosion that killed one worker at chemical plant in Donaldsonville — the second such blast in the area in as many days.

State Police Trooper Jared Sandifer said Saturday officials from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration were coming to the C